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Fall of Reach
|conc= |next= |name='Fall of Reach' |image= |conflict= |date=July 25th, 2552 - August 30th, 2552 |place=Reach |result= ;Pyrrhic Covenant victory: Glassing of Reach |side1=Covenant Empire |side2=United Nations Space Command |commanders1= * Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee |commanders2= * Admiral Roland Freemont † * Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb * Admiral Michael Stanforth † |forces1= ; *11 ships ; *314 ships ;Other fleets *~400 ships |forces2= ; *~200 ships *Orbital Defense Platforms (20) *Refit and repair stations (21) *Orbital defense station (28) ;385,421,100 available military manpower *58,485 land assets *11,050 air assets |casual1= ;Total dead: ~100,000,000 ;Total wounded: ~200,000,000 |casual2= ;Total dead: ~200,000,000 ;Total wounded: ~160,000,000 |other=Total civilian dead: ~300,000,000 – 400,000,000* *= approximations }} The Fall of Reach, also referred as the Battle of Reach, was one of the largest engagement in the . Fought between the UNSCDF and the Covenant from July 25th to August 30th, 2552, the battle was regarded as one the largest and most decisive military defeat in space incurred by the human civilisation, even surpassing the military casualties from the . Background Though hailed victorious after the , the UNSC Navy severely underestimated their extraterrestrial aggressors, whom managed to attach a tracking probe onto the UNSC Iroquois. When the Iroquois returned to Reach, the planet's presence — and its extent — was disclosed to the Covenant Empire. Unbeknownst to the UNSC officers, the Covenant siege of Sigma Octanus IV had already compromised the location of Reach; the artefacts recovered by Covenant's archaeology recovery units revealed all known nearby locations of similar artefacts around the system. Prior to the Fall, the Covenant Empire despatched a pre-invasion force, the , to Reach to assess the human's military strength and infrastructures along with available ancient artefacts that could be of use for the Great Journey. The force, with its preliminary objectives completed, deployed its ground forces and initiated the invasion by establishing several bases of operations. Though the UNSC managed to rid the preliminary invading forces from the planet, their effort was for naught as the rest of the Covenant invasion fleets had arrived. Prelude to battle Pre-invasion force The Covenant made considerable preparations before initiating the primary invasion. When the probe transmitted its reports, the Covenant's Council of Masters inspected the details and referred to the Council of Generals with a proposal of a joint-operation which involves crippling the human's defences and infrastructures. leader, , provided the UNSC some details of past operations conducted by him while serving under the Covenant Empire. One of it was the Covenant invasion of Reach. This proposal laid out complex methodologies that had not worked effectively in past theatres, but necessary to avoid another disgraceful loss as such in Sigma Octanus IV. The Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence was given this task by the Masters, having its battlecruisers and destroyers reassigned to other fleets and, for the purposes of keeping a low-profile, now composed primarily composed of picket ships and frigates. On July 23rd, the picket ships of the Glorious Consequence arrived in Epsilon Eridani via slipspace, beyond the UNSC's monitored territories. Subsequently after their arrival, the ships diverted all known sensors used by the UNSC and established a secure entry point at the edge of the system, potentially masking any future slipspace arrival.The arrival of the picket ships was not unnoticed by the s; the probes recorded the arrival but was not able to identify the object. The report was filed but never explored until at the end of the Human-Covenant War Winter Contingency Battle Opening skirmishes Occupation of Viery Arrival of the Covenant armada Battle over Reach Fall of Reach Aftermath Timeline The following list out the events as recorded by MNRV/SS2/5H-0D-4N: |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |} Gallery Fall_of_Reach - RED FLAG (small).png|A squad of SPARTANs deployed to commence Operation: RED FLAG Fall of Reach - Fallen Spartan.jpg|A helmet of a SPARTAN, signifying the UNSC's defeat on Reach and throughout the entire Epsilon Eridani system File:Fall of Reach (ET).jpg|The aftermath of the Fall Notes External * Category:Canon Expansions Category:Battles